| Narrative forms play a critical role in the elaboration of personal memories whose acquisition relies mainly upon social interactions, communicative use of speech, and representational processes. Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder characterized by severe deficits in these areas. The aim of this study is to assess the potential relationships between autism and the acquisition of narrative skills and their implications in the elaboration of personal memories.; Fourteen high-functioning verbal autistic children, aged 9 to 13 were enrolled in the study. Twelve normally developing children and twelve non-autistic children with comparable developmental language disorders matched for chronological age and non-verbal IQ were also included. Medical and behavioral histories were obtained from parents' questionnaires. Verbal and non-verbal abilities were assessed using subtests from the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scale, the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals, the Wide Range Assessment of Memory and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test. Fictional and personal narrative productions were obtained from two picture story-telling tasks and a semi-structured interview about personal past experiences, such as birthday parties, trips, and holidays. Each parent was interviewed about his/her child's social behavior, conversational practices, and interest about the past.; Psychological screening showed formulation impairments in autistic and language impaired children and no deficits in verbal story memory for either group. All narratives and conversations were audiotaped for transcription and coding. Narrative analyses including story grammar and “high-point” analysis showed no group differences in narrative length, use of mental states, evaluation devices, and temporal and causal markers. Overall narrative scores from autistic children were lower and their stories less goal-oriented than normal peers. Autistic children's narrative productions were remarkable for their lack of high points. Narrative quality across tasks (story retelling, picture story telling and personal past event narratives) was more heterogeneous in autistic children than others. Parents of autistic children reported less initiation and interest for personal past experiences in their children's conversations than other parents.; These results are consistent with social constructivist models that emphasize the role of social interactions, collaborative speech and adult-guided conversation in the development of narrative skills. |
